Ties That Bind
by karevsprincess
Summary: Everything seems to be going great for Alex and Jo - they're married, they're both great surgeons, and they have three kids. But when their sixteen year old daughter begins acting strangely, they never expect just how much it will truly change their lives. Future fic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I was definitely not planning on starting another story now, but this idea would not stop nagging me. Plus there's definitely not enough Jolex stories on here to satisfy me. I may not be updating very regularly for the first couple of weeks, but by late June - once I'm out of school and home all day - I'll probably be posting more frequently. Until then, all I ask is that you'll bear with me here.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Grey's_.

* * *

2018

There was a crackle on the baby monitor, followed by a cry. Alex opened his eyes and was met with the flashing lights of the clock, which read 2:45 am. He rolled over, finding Jo still fast asleep. She looked so peaceful – hair splayed out on the pillow, hands resting comfortably on her torso, chest slowly rising and falling. He smiled to himself and leaned over, kissing her lightly on the forehead. She'd already given him so much. In the past four years, this woman had agreed to marry him, stuck by him through thick and thin, given him two kids – she deserved at least a good night's sleep. So Alex picked up the baby monitor and quietly left the room by himself.

He entered the nursery and slowly flicked the lights on. In the crib, his baby daughter was still crying, but as her little brown eyes met his, she slowly began to quiet. "Were you just lonely, baby girl?" He said softly to her, crossing the room in three big strides and picking her up. The crying stopped abruptly, her thumb going into her pretty pink mouth. "You just wanted Daddy to hold you. That's all…"

As he spoke, the baby calmed down, turning her tiny face into him almost as if she was burrowing her face into his chest. Alex smiled to himself as he looked at his little girl. He'd never known he could love someone as much as he loved his kids. Whenever he looked at his daughter's tiny face, he was just overcome with love. Her pale brown eyes, the beginnings of dark hair atop her head, the delicate, girlishness of her features constantly reminded him of his wife. In his eyes, she was perfect and no matter what, that would never change.

Slowly, the baby drifted off, fast asleep in her father's arms. Alex lifted her up so he could kiss her forehead gently, careful not to stir her awake as he placed her back in the crib. He ran a finger gently down her cheek. "I love you so much, Riley."

* * *

2034

When you had kids, the first day of summer vacation was always chaotic. At least that's what the past eighteen years of fatherhood had taught Alex Karev. He knew now from experience that June 10th was a good day to take off work, because when his kids finally woke up, they were going to be around the house all day for the first time in nine months and would surely get into trouble if he left them alone. After all, with him and Jo as parents, his kids weren't prone to being the calm, quiet type.

So, he aroused himself from sleep at eight-thirty sharp, even though it was quite painful to do so since he'd spent the night before in the ER (he'd known it wasn't a good idea, but the kid had been waiting for hours, and as a dad himself he'd really wanted to help). Upon descending the stairs, he found his wife in the kitchen, staring at a pan confusedly, a cookbook open in her one hand. He smirked to himself, leaning up against the counter. "You know, in the almost nineteen years we've been married, I don't think I've ever seen you cook."

Jo's head snapped up at the sound of his voice, and she scowled at him playfully. "Shut up," She said. "Do you want to starve?"

"With you in the kitchen, I already will," Alex responded, not missing a beat. His wife smacked him lightly on the arm, but then she leaned across the counter to kiss him on the lips, further proving she really wasn't mad.

"Ewww, gross! Save it for the bedroom!"

The couple quickly pulled away when they saw their youngest standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at them in disgust. "Aiden!" Jo chastised, feeling her face flush. "Don't say things like that!" Her son was _ten_. She'd thought she had at least three years left of her sweet little boy before he turned to the dark side. Alex, on the other hand, was clearly trying to hold back a laugh at Aiden's comment. Jo shot him a dirty look letting him know that that was not appreciated.

"So, buddy," Alex said, clearly trying to change the subject. "You're dressed already, huh? I thought you were going to stay in your pajamas until noon."

"That's what I wanted to do," Aiden answered. "But we have to pick up Ethan from the airport this morning, remember?"

Alex and Jo felt their faces fall and they shared a look. Crap. That was today? Without another word, they both took off running up the stairs, breakfast be damned. "Where are you going?" Aiden called after them, his little arms crossed over his chest.

"We're late!" Jo answered him. "Wake up your sister, please?" She didn't wait for an answer, dashing off into the bedroom and slamming the door behind her instead.

Aiden sighed and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and looked around, before pulling out a box of donuts leftover from yesterday's breakfast. He stuck one in his mouth and then began walking up the stairs again. At least his parents' total disorganization meant he could have whatever he wanted for breakfast.

* * *

Riley Karev let out a low groan as she heard the sound of her bedroom door being opened. She rolled over onto her stomach and threw a pillow over her head, trying to block everything out. But then she felt the telltale shift of her bed as someone sat down, and the thwack on the back of her head that meant it could only be Aiden.

She reluctantly removed the pillow and sat up. Her little brother was perched on the end of her bed, eating from a box of donuts. "Morning, sunshine." He said sarcastically through his chewing.

Riley made a face at him. "Gross." She said. "You're getting powdered sugar all over my bed!" She took a donut from the box and began to chew on it.

"So are you!" Aiden said, swallowing. Riley used her free hand to shove him backwards, and Aiden narrowly missed dropping the donuts all over the floor.

"Don't be a jerk," Riley snapped irritably, before getting out of her bed. She grabbed a hair tie and sloppily pulled her brunette hair out of her face.

"What?" Aiden asked, taking another donut. "You are!" Riley glared at him again before walking to her closet and examining the contents. "And aren't you normally up at the crack of dawn? It's almost nine."

"So?" Riley asked. "I was tired. And what are you still doing in my room? I'm about to get changed!"

"Gees," Aiden said, getting off the bed and heading towards the door. "Why are you harassing me?"

"_You're_ harassing _me_!" Riley snapped at him. "Now get out of my room!" She tossed a dirty bra at Aiden's head, causing him to scream in mock terror before running out of the room. Riley rolled her eyes and then grabbed the nearest pair of sweatpants - at least he was gone.

* * *

"I hate airports," Riley declared as the four Karev's stood in the Sea-Tac airport twenty minutes later. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, growing impatient. "They're loud, they're crowded, and I feel like everyone's staring at me."

"No one's staring at you, Ri." Jo assured her.

"Are we sure?" Aiden piped up. "I mean, she is dressed like a slob today -" At this, Riley reached across her parents to give Aiden a good shove.

"Hey," Alex said, separating them. "No one is staring at Riley. And if they are, it's because she looks so exceptionally pretty today. Right guys?" Aiden grumbled a response while Riley stuck her tongue out at him before hugging her father.

They were interrupted by the reappearance of the Avery's, who had gone to the food court to get some coffee a few minutes before. "Is their flight here yet?" April asked anxiously, while Jackson handed Alex and Jo the coffee they had promised them.

"Not yet," Jo responded, taking a long sip of her coffee.

Riley looked up at the arrivals board again. It was saying that the flight from Cambridge was on time, but they had yet to see a familiar face. "Maybe the board is lying," She blurted out. "Maybe something happened, or..."

Her father shot her a confused look. "I'm sure nothing happened," He assured her. "Are you feeling okay?"

Riley opened her mouth to respond, but someone answered for her. "Riley is _fine_." answered Luke from his spot by April's side. And it was clear that he did not mean fine emotionally - the youngest Avery had always harbored a not so-secret crush on her, even though he was six years younger than she. Riley rolled her eyes and turned away, while Alex watched her for a second longer, before turning back forwards.

Finally, a few minutes later, April let out a loud squeal and took off towards the escalator leading from the terminals. Mercy Avery was the first to step off, and was met with her mother throwing her arms around her neck and pulling her in for a tight hug - which was hard, considering Mercy was an inch or two taller than April. Physically, she was all Jackson, and that included the height.

Riley watched anxiously for another moment before finally breathing a sigh of relief. Ethan was the next to step off the escalator, and the first person he walked to was her. "Hey, Ri." He said. "Long time no see." Riley grinned and pulled her big brother in for a hug, squeezing him tightly and grabbing onto his hoodie for support. Ever since Ethan had left for Harvard at the end of last summer, she'd been so lonely without him. Hopefully, now that he was back home until September, she'd be able to be her old self again.

After a few moments, Ethan let Riley go, and Mercy and April rejoined the group. Now Jo - being the overprotective mama bear she was - began bombarding Ethan with questions, while Mercy went to hug her dad, only after stopping to ruffle Luke's red hair.

But, it then became evident that they were not done receiving visitors when a face they hadn't expected to see appeared. He hadn't seemed to have changed much since leaving for college - in fact, if anything, he'd gotten even more handsome. His blonde hair was perfectly arranged, his blue eyes sparkling, and as he descended the escalator, suitcase in hand, she swore he smiled right at her.

"Guys," Ethan said, as his best friend joined him. "You remember Timmy."

Oh, Riley remembered Timmy. Timothy Torres-Robbins had been Ethan's best friend since childhood - Mercy was a year and a half older than them, in the grade above, and a girl to boot, so they hadn't really spent much time together until they all went to Harvard. Ethan and Timmy, on the other hand, had always been extremely close. They'd ended up being born less than three months apart, because when Timmy's two moms decided to have him it turned out that Callie couldn't get pregnant again and Arizona had to be the one to carry, derailing their plans to have a baby for a while.

Growing up, Riley was two years younger than Ethan and Timmy, and none of her parents's friends had a kid her age, so she practically worshipped the two boys. And Timmy...well, to put it lightly, Timmy had always been attractive.

"We weren't expecting you," Jackson said, wrapping his arm around Mercy's shoulder. His daughter rested her head on his shoulder, a daddy's girl even at nineteen.

"My moms are in New Haven for Sofia's college graduation," Timmy explained. "So it's just me until they get back." Then, Riley swore she saw him wink.

She was still distracted as they started off to baggage claim, only brought back down to Earth when Ethan threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. "Did you miss me, sis?" He asked teasingly, ruffling her dark hair.

Riley didn't answer for a second. She looked from her older brother to Timmy, who was walking a few steps ahead, and then her gaze met her father's, whose own eyes were watching her curiously. She shook her head and looked away - if Alex had any problems about her crush on Timmy, he'd just have to get over it. She was a big girl. Riley turned back to Ethan now and forced herself to smile. "Of course I missed you."

* * *

I'm not crazy about this first chapter, but I'm always particularly hard on myself, so I decided to just post it. Review if you'd like - takes a second, means a lot. And tell me if you'd be interest in me continuing.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Thanks for all of your lovely reviews! I know a lot of you are wondering what is wrong with Riley, and I promise you you'll find out in due time. I did make a few subtle hints at her - let's call it condition - in the first chapter and this one as well, but they are very easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. I think the next chapter will feature some more telltale signs of what's going on with Riley, so you'll probably get more of an idea soon.

Anyways, thanks for your patience, and here's your second chapter.

**Disclaimer**: I didn't acquire the rights to Grey's Anatomy since I posted the first chapter. Bummer.

* * *

Riley woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking furiously on the front door. She groaned and rolled over, wondering why someone would come to the house this early. When she saw the clock, she immediately sprang up. It was already after eleven, crap. Her parents had already gone to the hospital for the day, and Aiden had probably already left to go hang out with his friends. Why hadn't Ethan woken her up?

After getting out of bed and starting down the hall, Riley saw that her older brother's room was empty - as well as her parents' and Aiden's, as predicted. When she reached the kitchen, Riley found a half-empty pot of coffee sitting on the counter, having gone cold from sitting there so long. There was a note on the counter, surely left by Ethan.

_Morning Sleeping Beauty! _

_It's about ten right now as I'm writing this. I hope you didn't want me to wake you up - I figured you could probably use some extra sleep after picking me up from the airport yesterday. So anyway, some old friends from high school asked me to meet them for coffee. I'll probably be back in an hour or two. See you later little sis! - Ethan_

Riley rolled her eyes at Ethan calling her 'Sleeping Beauty'. She was about to make another pot of coffee when the knocking at the door started again - and this time, whoever was there had found the bell. "I'm coming!" Riley yelled out. She threw Ethan's note away before walking to the door. When she opened it, one of the last people she'd been expecting to see was standing there.

Timmy smiled as Riley opened the door. "Hey, nice of you to finally show your face. I've been knocking for twenty minutes."

Riley gave him a look. "I'm sorry," She said. "Did it ever occur to you that no one was home?"

"At eleven am on the first day of summer vacation? As if." Timmy responded. "Plus your downstairs light was on. Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Riley laughed and let him in. Timmy had never been shy about teasing her - after all, he was one of Ethan's closest friends, which meant he could usually tease Riley whenever he wanted, as long as it wasn't mean-spirited. Really, the only one of Ethan's friends who had never given her a hard time was Mercy, because apparently she thought being a year older than Ethan and Timmy meant she had to be the mature one, and she hadn't really befriended them until they all got to Harvard anyway.

"Ethan's not here, just so you know." Riley said. She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. The couch the Karevs had in their living room was older than Riley and both of her brothers, but it was still in pretty good shape and apparently kept around for sentimental reasons - whatever that meant, Riley didn't know.

"That's okay," Timmy said. He followed Riley into the living room, but didn't sit down. Instead, he stood lingering at the threshold between the hall to the living room, his hands in his pockets. "You can pass the message on."

"Okay," Riley said. "Well, what is it?"

"Like I told you," Timmy began. "My parents are in New Haven with Sofia because she's graduating from Yale. They're going to stay with her a few days and then they'll all come home for the summer before Sofia starts medical school, blah blah blah. Well, while the moms are away, the Timmy will play. So, there's going to be a party at the Torres-Robbins residence tonight for all us kids. Ethan's invited." When he finished, Timmy smiled, as if he was proud of himself.

"Hmmm," Riley said. She looked at Timmy for a second, deliberating. She'd never been prone to impulsiveness, but she did know that when an opportunity presented itself you should grab it. And this was an opportunity to spend more time with Timmy, who she really liked. Who was she to say no? "If I tell Ethan, do I get to come tonight?"

Timmy looked at her for a second, and then he smiled. Then he laughed. "You want to come to my party? You're like, fifteen."

Riley frowned at him. "Hey!" She snapped. "First of all, I'm sixteen. And second, yeah, why not? I'm not a little girl anymore, Timmy. Give me one good reason why I can't come."

Timmy was silent for a long second. Riley couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking - the last thing she wanted was for Timmy to still view her as Ethan's baby sister, who wore her hair in pigtails and played with Barbie dolls. Like she said, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was sixteen - practically a grownup. "Fine," Timmy finally said. "My house, nine o'clock. Don't be late."

Riley smiled and nodded. "Of course. It was nice doing business with you."

Timmy snorted as he started towards the door. "Yeah, same to you. See you tonight, Riley."

"Bye, Timmy." Riley stood in the doorway and watched as Timmy headed back towards his car. Once the older boy had slid into the driver's seat and begun to pull out of the driveway, Riley turned and walked back inside the house. She smiled and sighed to herself. She was going to have the time of her life tonight, and from now on, Timmy would never view her as anything other than a bona fide woman ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Sorry this took a while, I decided to rewrite this chapter. Hope you enjoy! Sadly I didn't include a Jolex scene this chapter (because it was already over 1,000 words and I wanted to give you guys something) but next update there will be.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Grey's Anatomy_.

* * *

Riley felt incredibly nervous as she stood outside the front door to the Torres-Robbins house. She took a deep breath, before finally reaching out and ringing the doorbell. A moment later, the door was opened by not Timmy, but Mercy Avery. "Hey, Riley." She said with a smile. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Riley said as she stepped inside. "You look really nice tonight," She told Mercy.

Mercy smiled. "Thanks," She said. She did look really nice, but then again Mercy had always been pretty, with black hair, blue-green eyes, and a naturally slim body. Tonight, she wore a plum colored dress, which looked great with her dark skin. "You look...cute."

Riley looked down at her own outfit. It was obvious Mercy was just being nice. Riley wasn't normally the type of girl who worried about what she was going to wear, and tonight she'd just grabbed the first thing she saw - a gray dress that had been hanging in the back of her closet. And she hadn't really done much with her hair either, just letting it naturally fall on her shoulders. Maybe she should've taken a little more time on her outfit... "So," She simply said. "Where's Timmy?"

Mercy looked at Riley incredulously. She probably thought it was weird that the first person Riley asked about was Timmy - but, because it was Mercy, she didn't say anything. "Upstairs in his room, I think." She answered. "He went to go get some CD's."

Riley smiled appreciatively at her. "Thanks," Mercy nodded in silent acknowledgement and Riley then brushed past her and headed for the stairs. As she looked around now, she took in the other occupants of the party. Pretty much all of the kids of her parents' friends were here - except for Sofia, who was still in New Haven - as well as some other people. There was Mercy obviously, who had met her at the door. Zola Shepherd, the adopted daughter of Riley's dad's best friend Meredith and her husband Derek, was sitting on the couch, talking to Tuck Jones, the son from her parents' former mentor Miranda Bailey. Zola, like Timmy's sister Sofia, had just graduated from college and was headed to med school in the fall, while Tuck, the oldest out of them all, had already finished med school at Princeton. In the kitchen was Zola's little brother Bailey, who was chatting up a pretty girl that must've been a friend of Timmy's. Bailey, who was also in college, was very handsome and therefore a lot of women seemed to gravitate to him. Bailey, on the other hand, was oblivious to it. Mercy crossed the room towards him now and he wrapped an arm around her waist instinctively, which made the girl Bailey had been talking to inflate. Growing up, Riley had always thought that Mercy had a thing for Bailey, because she was always practically hanging all over him, but apparently that wasn't the case - word has it Mercy had her eye on someone else, though Riley didn't know who.

Riley turned around and headed up the stairs. She knew from all the times Ethan had come over to Timmy's house when they were kids which one was Timmy's room - the first door on the left. Riley walked inside, since the door was open, and inside she found Timmy.

"Oh, hey." He said, looking up as he saw her. "You look nice tonight."

Riley smiled. She swore it actually sounded like he meant it. "Thanks. What are you doing?"

"Just looking at some CD's, nothing much." Timmy said. Riley walked over and examined his collection. He seemed to have a lot of good stuff - alternative rock, indie, some oldies. She grabbed a random CD from his rack.

"Wow," She said, pointing to one of the tracks. "I love this song. I could just play it on repeat for hours."

Timmy gave her a look of pleasant surprise. "Really? You like this stuff?" Riley nodded. "Well, let's put it on then." Timmy popped the CD into his player and then went back to sit on his bed.

Riley leaned up against the wall, watching as Timmy closed his eyes and bopped along to the beat, nodding his head and tapping his hand against his thigh. Normally she could get lost in the music too, but tonight she found it so hard to concentrate.

When the song ended, Timmy opened his eyes and he smiled. "So," He said. "You want a beer?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Riley was seated on the Torres-Robbins couch, a beer in her hand. Timmy was seated on her one side, Mercy on the other. Mercy had her legs thrown over the edge of the couch, while Timmy had his head rested on his shoulder, Riley stuck between them. The alcohol burned as it went down her throat and she felt her world begin to get blurrier, but also brighter at the same time. It was definitely a weird feeling, like everything was a spinning world of colors.

"Okay, we're heading out." Tuck said as he, Zola and Bailey grabbed their coats at the door. Timmy nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"And Timmy," Zola added. "Don't give the kid too much beer, alright? One's enough, she's had her taste." By 'the kid' she obviously meant Riley.

"Uh-huh, sure." Timmy said. Zola rolled her eyes at him, but left with Tuck and Bailey anyway.

"You probably should stop though," Mercy said, taking a sip of her own beer.

"You sound kind of like a hypocrite if you say that with a drink in your hand, Merce." Timmy said. "Plus, she's only had two sips. I'm not gonna get her wasted or anything." Mercy stuck her tongue out at him.

There was the sound of the door opening. "Forget something?" Timmy said, but when they all turned their heads, it wasn't Zola, Tuck or Bailey.

"Riley!" Ethan thundered as he stormed across the room. "What the Hell are you doing here? Are you insane? You're sixteen, you can't be here!"

Riley opened her mouth to speak first, but Timmy cut her off. "Ethan, buddy, you just need a beer. Riley was supposed to invite you tonight, it must've just slipped her mind…"

Ethan held up his hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Are you guys drinking?"

Timmy and Mercy opened their mouths to spit out some shocked excuse, but their attention was quickly diverted to Riley when she burst out laughing. "Is this funny to you?" Ethan snapped. "You guys are under twenty-one, this is illegal!"

Riley shook her head. Honestly, she didn't know why she was laughing. Ethan was right, it wasn't funny. "Wow," Timmy said. "You're a cheap drunk, kid."

Ethan shot Timmy a dirty look before grabbing Riley by the arm and lifting her off the couch. "I'm taking you home."

Riley felt her head start to buzz, and there was a ringing in her ears. God, she had to be really wasted. She turned to Timmy and Mercy, shooting them an apologetic look while Ethan continued to drag her forward.

"I can't believe you!" Ethan scolded her. "Are you insane, Riley?"

Riley groaned and reached up to grab her forehead. "Ethan, slow down. Slow down. My head hurts…Ethan, my head hurts…Ethan…"


End file.
